Hoses which are used to carry various fluids are known in the art. One of the problems encountered with these hoses is storage of the hose when it is not being used to transport the fluids. While current hoses are flexible and can be wrapped around a cylinder or drum for storage and transport, the length and width of the hose cannot be reduced. Another problem encountered with wrapped or coiled hoses is that they tend to kink when unwrapped or uncoiled. This problem is usually encountered by the average homeowner when using a garden hose to water their grass, plants, or wash their vehicles.
Firefighters have a solution to the kinking problem. The hoses that they use collapse into a relatively flat state when the fluids are removed from the hoses. The hoses are then stored in layers which are formed by the hose being laid back and forth upon itself. When the firefighters use the hoses stored like this, they only have to pull at one end of the hose and it unfolds in a straight line without kinking. This is not a practical solution to a homeowner's problem of hose storage because gardens hoses are relatively small in diameter, compared to fire hoses, and almost all garden hoses do not collapse into a flat condition when the water is emptied from the hose. Another problem with hoses known in the art is that they are heavy bulky and difficult to unravel when lying on the ground and also difficult to handle and drag around to the place where the fluid is needed both when they are filled with a fluid and equally as difficult to handle and drag around when they are empty and needing to be returned to there original place of storage. Also, if the user does not have a device for winding the hose then he must try to place the hose on the ground in a way as to not entangle the hose within itself because if the hose does become entangled within itself this makes it difficult and frustrating to unravel the hose the next time the hose is used.
Therefore, what is needed in the art is a hose that can be automatically contracted and reduced in length when not in use, and automatically expanded and extended to a length which is practical for use, and automatically returned to the reduced length when not in use. Also, a hose which is relatively light in weight and will not kink when taken from storage and filled with fluid for use.